A message to the G7 Heads of State meeting in Taormina, Sicily, May 26-27, 2017

This message is from citizens’ groups from at least 100 countries who are battling existing and proposed incinerators and are supporting positive steps towards Zero Waste.

Dear G7 Heads of State,

don’t just talk about the circular economy and sustainability, do it! Take active steps to support communities in your countries who are pioneering Zero Waste strategies.

Such active steps should include:

Ending subsidies for new resources destroying incinerators (euphemistically described as “waste to energy” facilities).

Announcing a phase out plan for existing incinerators as zero waste plans progress.

Setting up zero waste research facilities to help industry re-design. Products and packaging that cannot be reused, recycled or composted.

Building separation facilities in front of all existing landfills for the current residual fraction in the waste stream which is not reusable, recyclable or compostable. From this should be removed more recyclables, more household toxics and the dirty organic fraction which can be stabilized either via composting or anaerobic digestion before going to an interim landfill.

Providing funding to help set up Reuse and Repair centers in communities. Once funded these operations are usually self-sustainable.

Dramatically reduce the production and use of disposable plastic items which are unexpectedly ending up in the oceans and impacting seabirds and the aquatic food chains.

The Circular Economy is the only way to secure a future for our productive system. For example, Europe is importing 60% of primary raw materials and that simply cannot be sustained

Zero Waste practices are the perfect toolkit to turn the “dream” of a Circular Economy into reality, supplementing the traditional reduce/reuse/recycle strategy with the important additional tool of redesigning for improved durability, repairability, recyclability.

In the words of the EU commissioner for the Environment Karmenu Vella, our “ZW communities are the living examples of Circular Economy and its viability and environmental, economic, occupational benefits”

Zero Waste not only provides sustainable waste management solutions but also offers deep, cross sectoral benefits to address some of the most pressing global problems related to social and environmental justice and human rights.

As wars in the future, might well be caused by fights over limited resources, as they have been in the past, support for zero waste now may avoid incurring further international tensions over resources amongst Nations and can be seen as part of a global peace movement.

We know how busy you are, but may we request that you get your appropriate advisers to acquaint themselves with the details of the zero waste strategy from this book, “The Zero Waste Solution: Untrashing the Planet One Community at a Time” (Chelsea Green, 2013) and also from this movie “Trashed” hosted and co-produced by Jeremy Irons.